Air Force Rallies Past Baseball

Saturday, May 2

West Point, N.Y.

4:00 PM

Army West Point

21-25

Air Force

20-24

Air Force

Army West Point

Air Force Rallies Past Baseball

May 02, 2015 | Baseball

Box Score

May 2, 2015

Box Score | Box Score (PDF)

WEST POINT, N.Y. - A three-run top of the ninth inning propelled Air Force to a 4-3 victory over the Army West Point baseball team on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field. The result evened the series at a game apiece after the Black Knights took game one on Friday night.

Army West Point took a 3-1 lead into the final frame, but two errors helped the visitors take the lead for good. The Falcons pitching staff limited the Black Knights to three base hits and survived five errors defensively.

"Their starting pitcher was pretty good," head coach Matt Reid said. "He was hitting 92-93 from the left side and we battled him, had some opportunities and scored some runs. On both sides the game got sloppy defensively at times and we have to get back after it tomorrow."

In the middle contest of the three-game set, Army West Point (21-25) starter Jeremy Mortensen faced Air Force's Jacob DeVries. Both lefties needed a bit of time to settle in early in the first inning as DeVries worked around a four-pitch walk to leadoff man Jon Rosoff. The free pass came after Air Force claimed a quick advantage in the top of the first after a single by Adam Groesbeck's and an RBI double to center by Noah Pierce.

The Black Knights plated an unearned run in the bottom of the third on an RBI by right fielder Harold Earls, before Mortensen faced trouble in the top of the fourth. The Falcons loaded the bases with two away for Tyler Zabojnik, but Mortensen won the battle by going upstairs with a fastball to get him swinging for the final out.

Army West Point capitalized once again on Air Force miscues in the bottom of the fourth. The Black Knights had runners on the corners with two away as designated hitter Brock Davidson came to the plate. A wild pitch allowed Ryan Levenhagen to score from third base, then an error added a third run as the Black Knights surged ahead 3-1.

Mortensen recorded the first two outs in the fifth after a base hit by Groesbeck and a walk, before he was lifted for Justin French out of the Army West Point bullpen. He used three pitches to preserve the 3-1 lead with a strikeout of Tyler Jones. Mortensen allowed one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts and a pair of walks in a no-decision.

Rosoff registered the second hit off DeVries in the fifth when he shot a single through the left side, but he was picked off and the Black Knights went down quietly.

French was impressive again in the sixth, recording a pair of strikeouts, and Ben Smith threw out a runner stealing to end the inning.

The lead held at 3-1 heading into the top of the eighth inning when Air Force threatened with the two runners on and one out. French hit a batter and Tyler Salek beat out an infield single, which prompted another change on the mound. The Black Knights called on right-hander Julian Larimer, who finished the inning by throwing two pitches that resulted in two popups.

Larimer remained in the game to start the ninth and Zabojnik smashed a leadoff standup double to the gap in right center field. Pinch hitter David Thomas worked a walk on a full count and the ball got to the backstop to put runners on the corners. A sacrifice bunt by Groesbeck moved Thomas into scoring position with one out as the Falcons pulled within one run. Spencer Draws hit a fly ball to right field that ended up falling in front of the right fielder Greg Carter. With runners on second and third, Pierce singled to right to tie the game and Air Force (20-24) took the lead on a sacrifice bunt by Jones.

Despite putting two runners on in the bottom of the ninth, Army West Point was unable to tie the game as Ben Yokley earned the save for Air Force.

Army West Point closes the 2015 campaign in the rubber game of the weekend set against Air Force on Sunday. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.

Game Notes: Army West Point wore its home white jerseys with black pinstripes, white pants and black caps ... Jon Rosoff stole his eighth base of the season ... Mark McCants swiped his seventh bag of 2015 ... Ryan Levenhagen and Brock Davidson each tallied base hits for the Black Knights.